On Drumming Open Handed

Open handed drumming is a method that is debated frequently. I’ve considered it and have applied it to my drumming here and there. In this article, I will weigh in on the pros and cons, my experience with playing this way, and my net-net opinion.

For those not familiar with it, let’s define open-handed drumming. Let’s assume a right-handed drum set-up. Most of the time, the right-handed drummer will cross his right hand over the left to play the hi-hat. Certainly, in rock and pop music, a lot of time is spent in this position, because the primary function of the drummer is to play grooves to support the band.

A good view of Simon Phillips playing “open-handed” at a drum clinic.

Drumming “open-handed” simply means that the drummer plays the hi-hat with the left hand while the right hand plays the snare drum. This avoids the crossing over of the right arm above the left. Proponents of the open-handed style claim that the un-crossing of the arms frees up the right hand to play anywhere on the kit that is desired.

The open-handed method also allows the right hand unrestricted power on the snare drum. With no arm above it, the snare drum arm can rise as high as the drummer wishes and hit the drum as hard as is desired.

Open handed players will often mount their ride cymbal on the left side above the hi hat and play the ride cymbal with the left hand as well. Some open-handed players have their ride in the “regular” right side position, effectively becoming ambidextrous.

My first exposure to open-handed playing was when I saw Billy Cobham (as Jack Bruce’s drummer) play at the Bottom Line in NYC (circa 1980). Besides Cobham’s obvious mastery and technique, the idea that he played “uncrossed” was impressive to me because it just seemed so difficult to do. As a teen, I recall Billy’s open-handed playing had a real “wow” factor.

Despite the allure of the “open-handed” method, I continued to play the “normal” way and still do.

I don’t disagree with the logic of uncrossing one’s hands as described above. Yes, you can play anything you wish with your right hand while maintaining the hi hat pulse. And yes, you have no power restrictions. Yes, it looks pretty cool and it is different from the majority of players.

However (and this is a very big “however”) there really is no logic to re-learning to play “open-handed” once you’ve gotten very far down the road with your right hand leading on the cymbal. Imagine how much work that would take! Hours and hours and hours. Perhaps more than a thousand hours of practice. I find that daunting and actually just stupid.

Instead, I’ve used the idea on occasion, when it served a musical purpose. Recently, when playing with MANCIE, I wanted to play a groove that included the hi hat on every eighth note with the tom toms mixing in with the snare drum and bass drum. I simply decided upon the beat I wanted to play, learned some additional variations on it, and played open-handed in order to execute. I could have added a remote hi hat on the right side to meet the same goal, but I would rather not carry the additional hardware and cymbals around with me, so learning the open-handed beat was an easier choice. It required a few hours of practice, not a thousand.

I also once learned an entire set of music open-handed but I only did that because I was bored with my playing in that particular band. We were touring a bit and I knew the music so well that I needed to think of a new way to play the music without getting bored and without over playing. It worked. But it was an exercise rather than a necessity.

Let’s look at the main advantages put forth by the proponents of open-handed playing.

1) The entire kit is open to the drummers’ right hand when the left hand is playing the hi hat.

Yes, this is true. But do you really want to incorporate tom toms and cymbal bells into all of your beats? Do you need or want to do any of that with any real kind of frequency? I would argue that the answer is “no.” No, you don’t need to play that many sounds on your kit with much frequency at all. In fact, if you did play that way all of the time or with great frequency, you’d be one of those annoying, over-playing drummers who no one wants to play with.

Remember, our function is to lay down the groove. With only the three basic rock/pop voices (hi hat, snare and bass drum) you’ll have plenty to work with if you have technique and control over your dynamics. In addition, linear ideas can allow you to move around the kit more if you wish to play more “stuff” with out playing open-handed.

So, yes, the assertion is true, but I don’t particularly care that much about having the entire kit available to my non-cymbal hand at all times.

2) The snare drum hand can hit harder.

Yes, but really, who cares? You can hit plenty hard crossing over, particularly if you know how to hit a good rim shot.

Here is an important final issue. What about someone who is just starting to play? Does it make sense to play open? I personally think it’s fine to present it to drum students and give them the facts. Some students have a natural affinity for this style.

I rejected open handed playing because I would have had to practice a huge amount to get as good that way as I am crossing. But the beginning student is not re-learning anything. A newbie, who learns open from the get go is not wasting any practice time and will reap all of the benefits of the style. I see no reason to discourage it. I have one student in particular who has been pursuing open handed playing and I am happy to help her with that endeavor.

I do not mean to be negative about open handed playing at all. I like the notion. I think it does make for interesting possibilities. I have dabbled in it. But to make a switch after years of playing? No way. As a way of playing from day one? Absolutely.

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Great article. I studied with Gary Chester from ’77-’82. The New Breed is all about playing everything ‘lefty and righty’. You can play one page 40 different ways. I love the article stating “But do you really want to incorporate tom toms and cymbal bells into all of your beats?” Maybe for certain types of drumming, but my bread and butter comes from laying down and maintaining a groove. Playing for the song.
Great article.
Thanks.
d

Thanks for this. My son’s new teacher (we moved) is really pushing him to change to open hand and says that if he doesn’t he will be “left in the dust”. But my 13 year old who has been playing for 3 solid years (and is getting pretty good) is really upset about this. He’s not one to challenge his teachers so I may have to help him out with this one. I don’t want him to be left in the dust but from your article and many I’ve read online I just don’t think this will be the case. So thanks for posting this! Kandis

I had similar sentiments, I saw Carter Beauford doing it and it looked awesome but I thought It was a pro getting board or showing off. That is until I tried covering a Beauford fill and realized he was able to execute it so effortlessly because he did not have to reposition his hands.
I then practiced occasionally for coordination reasons and I noticed my left hand naturally becoming active on parts it normally wouldn’t have.

I play for a church so gospel-style liniar beats and contemporary Christian tom beats and builds became way easier being able to play parts open-handed.
So, like you, I don’t have time to train myself to fully switch the roles of my left and right hands, but having enough coordination to change the pattern of a tom beat or switch the hand that I lead the fill with has opened me up to fun new styles or just easier fills.

So, fully learn after 16 years of crossing over? No. Id rather relearn basic rudiments. However, work on my coordination and left hand speed? Heck yea.

I have a question and would be grateful to anyone who could enlighten me. Caroline Corr the drummer of The Corrs seems to have a mix of open and crossed handed technique. Any idea why she plays this way (open handed?) It seems to me it is impractical. I tried to emulate what she does on songs such as Joy Of Life and I can’t figure what she does on the hit hat. It also seems more efficient to play cross handed on such a tune. What do you think?

I in part agree with your thinking, if you’ve got so far with drumming re-learning to play it’s just not worth it. But, I consider myself an intermediate and I must say that open handed seems to make more and more sense especially for my style. I’m not a traditional musician in any way, so I’m not really concerned in playing covers or regular beats, I also like to hit hard sometimes and despite the fact that you can hit hard cross handed you will have to move the hi-hat pretty high (look at the really hard hitters like Dave Grohl for example) and that seems ridiculous to me, also yes you can hit hard but never as hard as your other hand which has total unrestricted movement so personally I find a bit of inconsistency in my playing. My final point is that if someone do manage to achieve open handed drumming it means that has worked greatly on his weaker hand’s dexterity which can only go to the drummer’s advantage. Your site is great btw!

Hi Andrea! Thanks for your thoughts on this. I love the idea of open-handed playing….it just doesn’t make sense for me to pursue right now. It sounds like you’re thinking about it. If you’ve only got a couple of years of drumming under your belt, perhaps it makes sense for you.

Hi Carter –
Thanks for your comment and question.
I think that left handed players should do whatever works for them. Some left-handed players set up the kit “backwards” from the way right-handed players do. Some cross their hands on a right-handed set-up just like rightys do. I think you have to do whatever works for you. Open-handed isn’t for everyone. There are way more pro drummers who cross rather than play open. So, you can succeed either way….
MF

Hi, I’m JerryWayne.
I have been really intrigued by this column and also by everyone who has given there thoughts on [open handed drummers/drumming].
Well, I must say that I come from an entire family of musicians. My mother and father and all of my uncle’s and my cousins as Well.
So yes it’s a DNA thing lol.
But being I have been raised from birth in this business I also have been blessed with a wide range of talents.
My main instrument coming up as a child was guitarist and a bassist plus I’m a singer and songwriter and a pianist. My father( Jerry Barnes Sr.) is a well known (pedal-steel-guitarist) but also everything I came up playing and many other instruments as well.
We are from (( Ponchatoula La. )) So being we are from the southern part of La. It PAYS to be very versatile if you are a working musician. New Orleans is only 45mins from where we live and music is not just a past-time thing to do here it’s a DNA statement if I am being as clear as possible.
— “With all this being said”–
I’ve been a drummer sense I was (19 or 20years old). I’m now (46).
I love a very wide range of music and I also love to get new inspirations from other people who understand just how critical musicianship is to me and others who are just like myself.
–with that being said–
After reading this article I find myself very intrigued by this. I’ve owned many different types of drums through the years and absolutely love to play double-bass and finding ways to split the mind and create new grooves.
But one thing that comes to mind when I was reading this article is the
[piccaro-shuffle] If I spelled it right.
My point is after polishing that groove for over a year in technique I began to play other grooves and phrases in jazz to funk and rock and even country music with a bit of a twist!! But by learning how to play Rosanna like “Jeff P.” literally opened my eyes in drumming much more than I ever thought.
Simply because of the left hand getting use to playing a groove different from the groove of the right hand and staying consistent.
Over time, (a year) later I found my muscle memory to be at it’s peak best than ever and made my over all music theory better.
So I would have to say that learning open handed is a good thing for anyone who is interested in moving forward with drumming.
For me, it made some of the simplest songs played that after years of playing I was just sick of playing anymore turn brand new and exciting and inspiring again.
Even though I play there other instruments, I still have a “aww” interest in percussion that I love so much. Its like when mind is calm and your opening the door to learn something new and then achieve it! Well to me, it just makes it all worth it!!! I appreciate the article you’ve provided so much. Your very cool bro. And last:
Do you have any ideas to throw my way that can help broaden even more possibilities?
Thanks so much for your time.
(Leslie Bon Ton roulet)
let the good times roll!!
-JerryWayne🎼-

Hi Jerry –
Thanks for your very interesting thoughts.
I think that other things to check out to broaden your horizons are:
–double bass
–rudiments and their application on the drumset
–pattern control for creation of vocabulary (see my articles elsewhere on the blog)